Since 2010, the Russian economy has been characterized by the development of stagnation tendencies. Mediumterm scenarios proposed by the Economic Development Ministry of Russia are shifting towards pessimistic options. In this situation it is important to understand the reason why the measures taken do not give positive results. The paper substantiates the conditions that make possible implementation of an optimistic scenario. 

The contemporary socio-economic and scientific-technological development is characterized by globalization, integration of economies, rapid movement of goods, services, people, capital and ideas. The transition to the sixth techno-economic paradigm is now in progress. Given that the techno-economic paradigm is represented by mastered breakthrough technologies, innovations and inventions, the development of scientific and technical progress, the cognitive and creative human component of technological processes along with the intellectualization of the main production factors are becoming the determining development factors.

The knowledge-based economy is the one that creates, disseminates, and makes use of knowledge to ensure economic growth and competitiveness. This is an economy in which knowledge enriches all industries, all sectors and all participants of the economic processes. The main effect of the knowledge-based economy is its widespread utilization by all industries and sectors rather than just high-tech product manufacturing. Important in the knowledge-based economy is not so much creation of new knowledge as efficient application of the latter. The innovative development strategy of the country is based on realization of the human potential, more effective application of knowledge and skills of people to continuously improve the technology, economic performance and life of society as a whole. The transition to the innovative way of development is characterized primarily by investment in the human capital. Product, process and strategy innovations are objects of innovative management. Priority management segments are being developed in the search of additional sources to increase the profitability of companies ranging from financial and customer relations management to quality and knowledge management. The creative potential of employees increasingly ensures the competitive edge of a company. The paper addresses current aspects of the knowledge-based economy development, organizational and managerial innovation, the relationship between generation of innovations and effective knowledge management in a company as well as problems of producing innovators — leaders of changes in the innovation economy. 

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A new stage of the pension reform in Russia scheduled for 2015 will be an extension of parametric and institutional reforms aimed at the restructuring of the economic and social system of the country to further adapt it to market conditions. The main areas of the reform are determined by the strategy for long-term development of the pension system of the Russian Federation2 (hereinafter — the Strategy) which substantially amended all prior regulations on mandatory pension insurance (MPI). At the same time, the Strategy remains committed to the transition of the pension system to insurance principles and concepts. In line with the Strategy, the article analyzes the goals and objectives as well as key areas and measures to reform the Russian pension system; explores the institutional and parametric changes planned for the various stages of the reform and sketches the possible solutions in the interests of all the participants of the pension system. 

The article discusses problems of financial support of power generating companies in the environment of the foreign policy and economic instability. The causes of low renewal rates in the power sector are exposed that threaten the implementation of the government program of its development.

It is shown that the implementation of industry development projects requires a more effective government financial support along with the search of market financing tools.

To solve the above problems, it is proposed to use non-government pension funds (NGPF) with simultaneous expansion of the list of their financial assets allowed for investment. Mechanisms of applying particular financial tools to financing the power companies are developed. Practical recommendations on how to make the program of the power industry development in the Russian Federation more effective are provided. 

The rapid growth of computer technologies in the near future is making fundamental changes in the traditional methods and style of work of insurers as well as in the system of relationships between all insurance market players. The paper summarizes the results of activities of both Russian and foreign insurance business companies using modern insurance technologies. Subject to investigation were the structure, purpose, organization of work, functions of Internet representations of insurance companies; consistently disclosed are sales stages of the mass insurance product; specific features of the online insurance sales.are identified. The paper is focused on cloud computing technologies, namely methods of distributed data processing, that make computer resources and capacities available to the user as an Internet service used in the insurance market, along with the description of their structure and specifics. The foreign experience in the organization of cloud technologies is studied; a comparative analysis of leading providers of cloud technology services in terms of their application in the insurance market is performed. The advantages and disadvantages of using cloud technologies in the Russian insurance market are revealed with an emphasis on the insurance data protection in the cloud. The activities of foreign cloud service providers are considered along with their regulatory framework, basic functions and directions of activity in the insurance industry. 

The article describes the specifics of the development in Russia of parallel or alternative banking, referred to as «Shadow Banking» in the world practice. Particular attention is paid to the factors ensuring its propagation, risks to the economy, regulation methods aimed at risk mitigation including administrative (administrative prohibitive) and economic (financial and regulatory) methods. 

Objective preconditions for creation of new transnational monetary unions including countries integrated into the modern world monetary system are studied; the need and feasibility of establishing new integrative monetary and payment unions under conditions of the dollar hegemony in the world monetary system and new global challenges are substantiated. The paper examines the factors creating the objective basis for gradual develpment of the payment and monetary integration of the BRICS countries and identifies respective groups of macroeconomic and special factors. Based on the statistical and comparative analyses of the identified groups it is concluded that objective preconditions for the step-by-step formation of the BRICS payment and monetary union have been developed. The principal stages and directions that enable establishment of the integrative monetary union of the BRICS countries are identified; the institutional and functional structure of the monetary union is proposed. The factors that hinder the establishment of the BRICS payments and monetary union are highlighted. 

The article describes methodological principles and ways of formation of a budgetary policy to ensure long-term stability of the budgetary system of the Russian Federation. The authors have formulated the concepts of balanced and sustainable economic and budget growth as well as the budgetary system stability; identified and studied the sources of the budgetary policy and budget system instability along with conditions ensuring long-term sustainability of the budgetary system; introduced quantitative criteria for evaluation of balance and stability of the budget system and budgetary policy. 

Improving tax control over the use of transfer pricing mechanisms in order to minimize tax is a major policy priority for every country. The need for regulation in this area is dictated by the ongoing globalization of business as well as the possibility of implementing complex transactions with residents in different jurisdictions. For the Russian Federation it is particularly important because the largest Russian taxpayers often represent parts of complex, vertically integrated holdings which business and financial activities mostly include cross-border transactions. The existing norms set in Section V.1 of the Tax Code (TC) of the Russian Federation meet the OECD recommendations on transfer pricing. In this connection, it is particularly important to analyze the main trends in regulatory approaches in this field.

The world experience proves that transactions involving intangible assets are the most complex ones in transfer pricing. Tax avoidance using international tax planning constitutes a serious risk to tax revenues. On February, 12, 2013 the OECD releases its report «Base Erosion and Profit Shifting» (BEPS) commissioned by the G20 Finance Ministers. One target is to develop an Action Plan aimed to prevent tax base erosion resulting from transfers of intangible assets within the same group. Since Russian companies actively participate in cross-border transactions involving intangible assets, the issue of improving existing standards set in Section V.1 of the Tax Code is highly relevant and timely.

Despite recent economic problems, modern Ireland has achieved a lot. Today it is a developed country, a member of the European Union. But the path to success was not always a straight line. In addition, the impact of the EU membership on the situation in the country has not been all positive as Ireland is a small country with an open economy. The paper provides a general overview of Ireland’s economic and political potential on the global scale; shows examples of the ups and downs of the Irish economy with reference to the historical facts; gives tips for getting out of difficult economic troughs. 

This article is dedicated to investigation of the legal system of the Republic of China on Taiwan, peculiarities of the legal regulation of the financial and banking sector in economy. Emphasizecharacteristic features of the law of modern Taiwan, the traditional law of ancient China, the moral teaching of the great Confucius, Roman-Germanic (continental) legal tradition.Emphasizes the development of legislation in the financial and banking sector, presence in the legal system of the Republic of China the main acts of law-making, regulating this sphere: The Banking Law, the Law on the Central Bank, the Law of the Bills of Exchange, and others.The special place in the legislative regulation of financial and banking sector belongs to the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering, that is actively used by Taiwanese law enforcement agencies fightting against the legalization of proceeds from crime. So, the former President ofTaiwan — Chen Shui-bian and his wife recently have been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment.In general, the legislation is sufficiently developed in Taiwan, and its law-making and lawenforcement experience would be very useful for the domestic legal science and Sinology in general. 

For the recent 15 years, a renewable energy implementation program has been realized in the Spanish fuel and energy sector, which is necessitated by the scarcity of coal, oil and gas fields, low energy potential of rivers and the nuclear moratorium. The implementation of the program is expected to change the balance of primary energy production and make the country’s economy more sustainable. However, the energy sector modernization has caused problems aggravating the consequences of the finance and economic crisis in the Spanish economy. They can be resolved only through the urgent reforms of the industry.

The present study is based on the systematic analysis of documentation of the European Union, the Government of Spain, the National Energy Commission of Spain, publications of Russian and foreign experts in the energy field. It is directed to identifying causal links in the process of the modern energy sector formation in Spain. The Spanish energy sector history and modern characteristics are described. The dynamics of the government debt to energy companies and the sector reformation plan are discussed. The comparison of the implementation scenarios for introduction of energy innovation technologies in Spain and Germany has enabled to identify the program flaws and demonstrate the need for continuous monitoring along with taking immediate corrective measures.

The analysis of the implementation in Spain of the EU’s «Third Energy Package» aimed at creating a stable unified energy system through structural reform of vertically integrated companies, liberalization of access to the infrastructure, increasing transparency in the industry and a balanced tariff regulation has been performed. The experience obtained in the Spanish energy sector modernization is valuable for Russia as an example of the innovative technology introduction in the situation of the world financial crisis. The implementation of renewable energy projects is advantageous because of its positive environmental impacts. Finally, understanding the Spanish energy sector is important for development of both the Russian-Spanish cooperation and global economic relations. 

Bank loans and deposits differ not only in quantitative characteristics but also in the content. Their dynamics is determined by contradictory internal structural trends. The work focuses on the loans and deposits of individuals and households in the banking system of the Republic of Bulgaria. The subject of the study is the dynamics and structure of loans and deposits. The main purpose is to study how the changes in internal structural components of the bank loans and deposits affect the overall dynamics under unfavourable economic conditions in the country. The study uses traditional scientific methods: structural, comparative, dynamic and ratio analyses. Conclusions are based on the information of the Bulgarian National Bank on the state of the banking sector in the country. The analysis of real empirical data taken from the Bulgarian banking practices for 2005–2013 years made it possible to define internal structural transformations as follows: a) loans in terms of their purpose, form, currency, maturity, size and quality; b) deposits depending on their shape, currency, maturity and size. The results can be used to identify potential opportunities to increase the activity of banks in Bulgaria as one of the factors contributing to the quick recovery from the economic crisis. 

Among a variety of innovative processes occurring in Russia in recent years, one of the most important is education reform. It is expected that upon the completion of the reform, Russian education system would meet the international standards of education and training. The fact that the role of mathematics in modern economics is increasing should be reflected in the educational process and the standards which are currently being developed by the Financial University. The paper suggests approaches to eliminate the existing discrepancy: with similar educational content in Russian and foreign universities, there is a deep gap in the study and application of quantitative methods. This gap leads to a decrease in the competitiveness of Russian graduates. 

This article presents the author’s own classification of risks for projects realized on the project finance principles. The classification is of particular relevance since most of the risks it highlights such as currency and interest rate risks, risks of commercial viability of the project including price risk and sales risk, along with project deadline overdue risks and cost overruns are beginning to plague investment projects implemented by many borrowers.

In addition, the paper contains a thorough analysis of all the identified risk categories and describes state-of-theart methods and tools to mitigate the above risks. The author emphasizes the role of a qualified and experienced project team, licensed appraisers and external consultants, risk monitoring, and an adequately set-up contractual base as core elements of effective project risk management. 

Nowadays, it is impossible to take out a mortgage without Private Mortgage Insurance. However, it is not obligatory for the borrower to insure against all the risks suggested by the bank. According to the existing Russian legislation when you get a mortgage, you are required to insure the mortgage property only against its destruction. Nevertheless, most of the mortgage banks require life, casualty and title insurance as a compulsory insurance that borrowers must purchase. Certain banks offer their borrowers either to pay life and casualty insurance or to pay increased mortgage interest rates. Sometimes the banks even put forward supplementary terms and conditions. As a result, mortgage loan expenditures may significantly exceed the premium rates. Therefore, most of the borrowers prefer to make the mortgage insurance contract and apply to the insurance companies.